Criminology Commons^™

Shared Responsibility: Conceptualising How A Public Health Approach May Enhance Police Response To Missing Persons, Katie Gambier-Ross, Joe Apps Dr, Sarah Wayland Dr

International Journal of Missing Persons

When a person is reported missing there are substantial costs for the individual, their family and society. This paper conceptualises the experience of missing persons episodes, through a public health approach. This then allows police, stakeholders and the community to engage in discussions about who is vulnerable to going missing by intervening in a way that addresses risk. Historically, a missing persons episode involves an absence, typically followed by police involvement in consultation with next of kin with establishing the whereabouts of the missing person being the primary focus. Yet, the risk factors of going missing relate more to the …